


Man of Steel

by HkHk



Category: Man of Steel (2013), Mass Effect, Superman (Comics)
Genre: Aliens everywhere, Renegade!Shepard, Up Up and Away!, What it means to be human
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-21
Updated: 2013-11-21
Packaged: 2018-01-02 06:03:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1053362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HkHk/pseuds/HkHk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clark Kent a normal boy living a normal world, wanting to have a girlfriend, get a job. Jane Shepard wants to fly. Neither of them get their wish. Luckily. </p><p>A story about growing up, and what happens to people as they grow more distant. Also reapers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm thinking of continuing this. I like the idea of it. I just lost track of updating it.

They named him Clark after Martha's father, he had a head full of hair and intelligent eyes that were curious about everything, the crops that grew on their farm or their sun weathered skin.

At first they thought he was a boy placed in an escape pod and had looked through news page after news page to check for any sort of disaster. Then the thoughts turned to abandonment. It was hard enough to make a life on Earth but on a colony so far away from the homeworld? Perhaps a young girl had decided she couldn't keep a child and instead left him to be raised by another. 

Whatever the reason was, the Kent family was grateful for the young toddler that crawled around their floor, making noises and being adorable. It was when he was a bit older that they realized just how different he was. There weren't that many doctors at the colonies and the Kents didn't think that they needed one. Clark was a healthy kid and rarely got sick. 

It didn't really sink in just how alien Clark was, despite his human features, his human eyes and his human face. They were driving home from the fair, it was late out, and a drunk driver slammed into their vehicle sending them both into a ditch. Martha remembered a bright light, shouting for Jonathon to hit the brakes and then nothing. She woke up on the road, a tearful Clark holding her hand, his clothes torn and dirt smeared on skin. Jonathon had hit his head on the dash and was knocked unconscious. The impact of two cars smashing into each other gave Martha whiplash, knocking her out as well. Clark had unbuckled himself and kicked the doors open, dragging his parents out before checking the other driver. The official story was that Clark was lucky and had managed to not get hurt and saved their lives. 

The night after, Martha ran a DNA scan on a scared boy's wrist. She wanted to know the truth, she wanted to know if he was....but her resolve, her will for it didn't matter when Clark looked at her with such fearful eyes. He was her son whether or not he was human. The Kent family promised each other to keep it quiet, to not allow Clark to become some experiment for curious scientists with loose morals. 

That baby boy grew up into a young man, his limbs growing faster than his ability to adapt to them. Clark had taken a liking to a neighborhood girl, the youngest of the Shepard family. He would come home with a smile and a blush wondering what flowers to get for her, and whether or not she would be impressed. He was a strapping young man, Clark was growing at an astonishing rate and was attracting looks from his schoolmates. Martha liked to think that Clark got her eyes and his cute face from Jonathon. 

The news at the time was dire, as there were criminal elements on the move making drastic and bold attacks on ships and colonies. Maybe it was time to leave Mindor, maybe go visit Earth and see relatives or even take a trip to the Citadel. They weren't getting any younger and Clark could take care of himself. If anything, Clark would be able to manage whatever the universe threw at him.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jane wasn't sure what to think of the neighborhood boy who had lived there nearly all her life. He was tall and kind. Her first interaction was when Rubert stole a doll from her cousin and tossed it into a tree. Her brother, John, climbed up the tree to retrieve the doll only for Rubert to steal it again later in the day. 

She remembered seeing the taller boy take the doll back and explain to Rubert that it was mean to steal. Rubert's response was to punch the other kid. Jane didn't really think anything was weird when she saw the scene, saw how Rubert flinched, how he rubbed his hand and ran away shouting something about revenge. All she saw was her neighbor handing the doll back to her cousin with this big sweet smile on his face. 

John's response was to look confused and dismayed at this sister's attraction. 

The Kent's were their closest neighbors a few miles out. They would come into town every week or so to buy things from the market, get news, share stories. They were quiet and kept to themselves. They had only one son, a boy that rarely showed up until later when he wasn't really a boy but not yet a man. 

Clark was a rather strange kid, Jane thought, he walked like he was aware of everything and scared of it. Not scared of the world but rather scared that he would harm the world, like it was made of glass. When Jane was older, around twelve, Clark began showing up to play football. He would appear down the road as if he'd ran all the way to their house just to play a game. 

Jane thought he must be lonely out there with only corn and tractors as company and her parents didn't mind the Kent boy around. He wasn't like Murph's kid who was rude. Being an only child must have made Clark different, strange but not too strange. 

John had commented on such, exclaiming he wanted to keep an eye on that guy and that Jane should stay away from creeps. Jane's response was to sock her brother in the shoulder. Clark wasn't a creep he was just weird. He would stare into the distance, or cock his head as if he was trying to hear something. Clark was simply strange. 

He played football with them for a while, him and the Shepard clan. Jane had her brother, her evil twin, and a whole host of cousins. They all lived together in one roof, her parents and her aunts and uncles. Together the Shepard Clan harvested acres of fruit trees and packaged them to be sold as preservatives and fresh fruit when the season was right. It took them all to make sure the operation ran smoothly. 

Jane wanted to be a pilot, to fly away and see the stars. She wanted to meet aliens and talk to them, have adventures. John couldn't do what she wanted, he was expected to continue the family tradition. Course, they could just dump the duties on their cousins but the fraternal twins were not too cruel. Their cousins were a little bit not there, as if a screw was tightened a bit too much. 

Jane at first didn't like Clark because he treated her like spun glass, easy to break. He wouldn't horse around, he wouldn't play games that involved too much tackling. At first she thought he was scared, that he was a wimp and she called him out for it too. Clark would just smile and shake his head. She was sure he just wouldn't hit a girl and that pissed her off, she could take a hit and darn well give it back twice as strong. 

She soon realized that it was more complicated than that. He treated everyone as if they were fragile beings. Even when playing football, Clark would evade all attempts at tackling him and he was a slippery kind of kid, slipping out of holds and moving quicker than anyone else. 

Despite his flaws, Clark was a good guy. He was a horrible optimist, willing to see the good in everything. Car broke down? Go cloud gazing. Grades really bad? Make studying fun. It was honestly super annoying. She called him out on it too. No one could be that optimistic without being a bit brain damaged. 

His explanation for it? Didn't make sense. He said, "Why dwell on the bad things when there is so much good in this universe?" 

When the batarians came, raining fire on Jane's world, she still didn't understand.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jane's understanding of aliens was that of a childish one. They looked different and the few that did drop by Mindor were nice enough. Her parents didn't let her get too close. 

She could clearly remember when the batarians came, the moments before and after. John, Clark and herself were climbing trees in an attempt to prove to each other who was the fastest. 

Clark, she always thought, was holding back. He was strong and once she tried punching him when he wasn't looking, she bruised her knuckles. Whatever the Kent family were feeding their boy she wanted some of that. Boy had an arm that was tougher than metal. He probably had a head just like that too, dull and thick. 

But that would be a disservice to Clark, despite his optimism, Clark had this unnaturalness to him. He hid it well, but it showed at times. To the Sheapard kids, he just meant he was weird. Weird and a bit too strong to mess with. They tried playing tackle with him. 

Tried, would be the key word here.

Anyways, she distinctly remembered Clark looking to the distance, a small frown on his face before he turned his head and spoke. "Someone's coming." 

"Yeah, some shipments should be arriving." John was on the top of the tree, pointing to the bright lights that were most likely ships. 

"I don't think it's that." Clark said, his voice suddenly very quiet. 

It was then that they saw it, bright lights that grew brighter suddenly before vanishing. Then the boom came. Clark's face went white. 

Hannah came out, shouting for them to get inside. John had protested, climbing down the tree and running to the town, where their father was. It was a market day and their dad was out there selling and buying. 

It was the last time Jane saw John.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hannah dragged the kids inside, putting them in the cellar with the rest of the family. They planned for things like this, when something goes bad, they would just hide and wait. Hide and hope help would come. 

Clark had torn away before he could be sequestered into the cellar, into a place with only one door and such a small. He ran home. Of course. 

Jane ran after her brother. She ran to town, a few miles out where the fighting was thick and loud. Where the explosions got louder and louder and the ground was pocketed and black. 

She needed to find her father, her brother--

A bright sphere rocketed towards her, she spotted it out of the corner of her eye. Jane dove hoping she had time, hoping that she'd be fine, hoping--something grabbed her and pulled her to the ground. The sphere smashed into the ground seconds later, spewing rock and dirt over her. 

"Let me go!" Jane shouted, trying to pull her arm back from the vice like grip. She pounded her fists into what she thought was armor, it certainly felt hard enough, her savior-attacker let go. 

After the dust had settled, Jane realized who had pulled her from danger. It was Clark and he had a motorbike, with room enough for two. 

She hoped on the bike without his word or say, patting him on the shoulder. "Let's go!" 

Even at sweet age of sixteen, she already had a commanding presence. 

They rocketed off to the spaceport.  
\---------------------------------------------------------

The few Alliance marines that were on the ground when the attack occurred were not happy. Really the batarians were sore ass losers from the last fight and they were now just picking on these colonists. The marines will not stand for that!

Aliens man, mother fucking aliens. 

It was soon very quickly realized that they were screwed and pinned down. It didn't help that they were outnumbered, outgunned but also people were getting the shit shot out of them, civilians were being dragged out and shot or dragged out and tossed into bins and maybe shot. 

Whatever it was, it was too much for a bunch of drunk soldiers on their shore leave to handle. Best they could do is hunker down, save as many people as they could and hope that a patrol would happen by and save them. 

This was a good idea, decent even. Problem was that the batarians were here and in force, shooting anyone who proved to be a resistance and taking those they could. 

\---------------------------------------------------

They managed to get into the space port without much trouble, avoiding most of the patrols. Jane jumped from the bike, running once her feet hit the ground. Clark followed, as swiftly, his fingers curled inward almost into a fist. 

"John!" They had stopped near the shop where her father was last at. "Dad!" 

It was actually quiet in this area, as silent as a graveyard. The implication were unfortunate. 

Sick with worry, Jane blundered her way into market area of the space port, stepping over dead bodies, searching for anyone she knew. Hoping that anyone would be alive. 

Bodies covered the floor, in mostly fetal positions. "No, Aunty Emma." Jane whispered recognizing a few of the bodies. "Dorthy." 

Suddenly, rounds punched into the ground near her feet, a loud raucous yell could be heard from the rooftops. More bullets whizzed by Jane's face missing her by a hair. 

At this point, she was past caring, past fear. These aliens had come to her home and destroyed it. Her father was probably dead and so was her brother. A blinding rage filled her entire being, how dare they do this to her, to them. How dare they. 

She didn't notice being tackled to the ground, or the blast that took out the building around her, throwing rubble everywhere. "Let me go Clark!" She didn't know who it was but had a good guess. "I'm going to kill them!" 

Jane raged under Clark's grip, screaming curses to the world as it burned around her ears. The next blast's concussive waves knocked her unconscious, Clark's body unknowingly protecting her own. 

He remained crouch over her, the dust billowing off his form, rock broken over his back. When the firing stopped, Clark finally sat up, looking at the destruction that surrounded them. Jane was unconscious but alive. 

Clark breathed, shoving aside the pillar that had fallen onto him, crushed rock dust floating in the air. The sun felt warm against his skin, on his exposed back. He was feeling better every second. 

If only this was true for everything else. Even from here he could see the destruction. Explosion echoed across the plains where ships flew at low altitudes firing at settlements. He could see them sitting in their ship looking at the colonists. They were aliens just like him. 

Ever since the accident Clark had to come to terms that he wasn't human. He remembered the accident very clearly, the bright light of the other vehicle the only alert before the car was sent spinning into a ditch. The moment their car rolled to a stop he had already pulled the belt off. He punched the door open, bending the metal in half. Then he pulled the door off and dragged his parents to safety. His mind was full of panic he didn't really consider exactly what he did. 

Adrenaline could count for his sudden strength, luck for coming out of it without injury. He always thought himself as awesome, super fast and super strong. It wasn't until after the accident, until after he saw the injuries on his parents, skin split and blood. Reconciling his own suspicions and then having his parents tell him about the ship, about his own arrival. 

"We couldn't read the writing." They showed him the ship, a pod that could barely fit their dog, sleek and silver unlike any design that he'd studied in his books. 

"We tried to find your parents..." His mother was close to tears. "I'm sorry Clark, we should have told you earlier." 

The boy who was not yet a man looked at his parents and ran over to hug them, gently. They were his only parents. Maybe when he was older and can buy a ship he'd go look. Right now his parents needed him. The ship didn't matter, the strange words or the red blanket inscribed with a symbol that looked like a stylized S. All that mattered were in his hands. 

There was another incident, the bus they were on fell over a cliff into a nearby lake. The water level was rising, the driver was unconscious and the other children were screaming, banging on the windows. Later, he asked his father, "Should I have let them die?" 

Johnathon looked at him, placed his hand on rail thin shoulders that held so much more power than they advertised. "Maybe." 

Clark looked to the east, his vision blurring before sharpening.

Shepard's house was on fire. From here he could see their bodies. The batarians didn't know about the cellar and simply wiped the house off the map. The concussive force punched through the flooring, gas had leaked in the small space suffocating the hidden family. They died before the explosion occurred. 

Clark breathed. 

News of the attack traveled quickly but not quick enough. By the time Martha and Johnathon learned of it, the rescue ship was returning to Earth. 

There were only two survivors. One was Jane Shepard who was found under rubble, safe and unharmed. Lucky they say and the other was Clark Kent who was found hiding in the basement of his parent's house. 

The rest were dead or kidnapped and there was uproar. The humans demanded action. They wanted blood. 

Truthfully there was only one survivor. Jane Shepard died on Mindoir and from the ashes arose a ruthless commander who destroyed the batarians utterly on Torfan. 

They separated on the rescue ship. Jane went to look into enlisting, she had no home and no family. She only had revenge. 

As for Clark.....

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	2. Chapter 2

"And this is Emily Wong for Future Content Corporations. Hopefully these rumors of former Commander Shepard are simply a lie. If they are true, they raise staggering questions about what's really going on here. What is Cerberus? What exactly is going on."

"And cut." The camera man gave Emily a thumbs up. "Good take." 

Emily Wong intrepid reporter grinned. "Thanks." She cast a look behind her to the bumbly reporter who she was supposed to help. "Hey, Kent." 

Clark looked up behind glasses, owlishly. "Yes? Do you need another caffa?" 

"No. I was wondering if you'd like to help me with the colonist vanishing. I got a secret tip about it. Think you're up to it?" Part of the reason was to simply watch Clark Kent mystery boy from Mindoir. Who wears glasses anymore? 

"Of course. I'd love to." He started to fidget with his glasses, "Do you think they're right? That Commander Shepard faked her death?" 

Emily thought back to the woman who had helped her, who despite her crude humor and questionable practices and prejudices saved the council. Honestly she wouldn't put it past the human spectre. 

"We'll see. That's part of what we're looking for." 

\---------------------------------------------------

Clark stared out of the view screen, watching the stars pass them by. He could hear the thrum of the ship, the sound of breathing, the pulses of hearts if he just focused. 

He breathed out, closing his eyes. Imagine an island..can you see it? 

The background noise faded to a pleasant buzz in the back of his head. "Hey Clark." It was Emily again. "How you doing, big guy? Don't like space?" 

Clark shook his head. "I've only been in space a few times." He said quietly. 

"You know Commander Shepard right? You grew up on Mindoir didn't you?" While Emily was not as brash and accusing as another journalist she also had balls of steel. Her tone softened. "You were there when the attack happened." 

Clark felt himself nod. 

"Think you can tell me? It's not for a story but I want to know you and you do share a common background with Commander Shepard. Maybe you can help me understand her better." 

"She changed." Clark said simply, "She lost everything that day. I don't think I can help you." 

_"Kent!" Jane ran over to him, embracing him in a hug. "I thought you died too. They said you were at your house."_

_He had to hide his ship, make sure no one else found it. After the batarians moved on, he ran back home, a blur to the naked eye. The marines had found him hours later sitting on the porch of what used to be a house._

_She was crying in his arms, against his neck, bandages wrapped around her limbs. "I hate them." Jane hissed fiercely. "Those god damn aliens."_

_Fr the longest time Clark had a crush on Jane. She was graceful when he was clumsy, brilliant when he was dull. And she was so very kind._

_Jane pulled away her face tear streaked but her eyes a stormy green. "I'm going to kill everyone one of those bastards."_

_Clark the alien merely nodded. "Good luck." Said Clark the child, wishing his childhood friend the best of luck._

_"Join me. You're stronger than you seem Kent. You're fast and you're hard as a rock. You'll fit in." She leaned in to punch him on the arm softly. "Come on."_

_"I can't, my parents--"_

_Jane flinched. "Oh yeah. Your parents are still alive."_

_An awkward silence filled the room as they each stared at the ground, unable to look each other in the eye._

_"For what's its worth, I really liked you Clark."_

_They kissed briefly._

_Then she was gone._

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You are right. What was I thinking? No one knows how her mind works. She's so contradictory. Everything she does is confusing. It doesn't make sense." Emily prided herself in being able to uncover anything and to do it in a stylish manner. True journalism is to find the truth, to know the truth. 

Clark felt it first, the trembling vibrations of the ship before the ship itself shuddered. 

"Morse! What was that?" 

The pilot shouted back. "I don't know, something just...shit." 

Another rocking sensation, stronger. Warning klaxons flashed on. Hull breaches. Venting oxygen. 

"Get into the escape pods!" Emily shoved Clark. "Go!" 

She was already dressed in an environmental suit deciding it was best to err on caution than to be sucked into the vacuum of space and to die an agonizing death. 

There was a deafening explosion, the ship creaked and before her very eyes began to split. She jammed her helmet on sealing it. Hopefully her crew made it off into the escape pods. She had a day's worth of air if she's careful. Their distress beacon would have been deployed already. Everything was going to be okay. She planned for these situations. 

Another explosion brighter and then more, a sound similar to popcorn. From the corner of her eye she could see the escape pods, or what was left of them. Then she saw IT a massive ship that sat above the wreckage picking out pods and destroying them one by one. 

They're scanning for life signs, Emily thought, her heart cold. She drifted in space wondering if she'd be next, if her next breath would be her last. She wouldn't become the best journalist, punch out Khalisah or meet Commander Shepard again. 

A hand grabbed hers and pulled her behind rubble. Emily just about died then and there of a heart attack. Seeing who had grabbed her didn't help either. 

There, floating in space was Clark Kent, his clothes untouched, his all too intelligent eyes looking at her, through her. 

"What are you? Emily mouthed knowing he couldn't possibly hear her in the vacuum of space. 

He smiled, sadly. 

\-------------------------------------------------

"Commander Shepard, we got a distress beacon." 

"Whose it from Joker?" 

"Hmm..seemed to be registered under the Fun Future Corporation. Do you want to check it out?" 

Shepard thought about it for a microsecond. "Yes. Someone might need our help. Besides it's been a long time since I've killed pirates or mercenaries." 

"Grunt been putting holes in the hull again hasn't he?" 

Shepard groaned. "Yes. That kid is going to get us all spaced." 

"Again." 

"Set a course. I'll prep the crew." 

"Yes, Commander." 

Shepard traveled to the briefing room where her 'crew' waited. "Alright folks we got a rescue mission. That means no blowing things up randomly, don't steal, don't eat anyone...." She looked at her alien crew, an exasperated look on her face. "I shouldn't be telling you this. Again." 

Most of the crew agreeded with her, there were a few who were unrepentant repeat offenders. Kasumi just grinned while Jack gave her the middle finger. At least the alien crew were responsible even Grunt who had a habit of headbutting walls. 

"We're approaching...Commander you got to see this!" 

A screen popped up in the middle of the conference room. It was a debris field of what used to be a ship. 

"Our sensors are detecting the same energy signature of the Collectors. They destroyed this ship." Shepard felt her gut tighten. 

"Any survivors?" 

"Two..or one. I don't know, the sensors arn't sure of what to make of the readings."

"Pull them in. Mordin."

Seeing as it was no longer a rescue mission, some of the crew departed, Jack back to her dark hole, Grunt to headbutting the walls again. Kasumi was long gone. But her original crew remained, loyal as ever. 

Aliens, thought Shepard. Who would have thought she'd be working with them side by side? Not her.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What does it mean to be Clark Kent?

It means to float in the vacuum of space, eyes wide open, mind calm. It means to weather a blast of energy that would have killed a normal man. It means to have a dream of flying and then to awaken, to find himself floating above his house. 

To be Clark Kent is to be walk with a whisper in his step, to look at the sky and to be able to see it bend before them, the very air blurring as if he could gaze even deeper, further. 

He was eight years old when his powers began to manifest, when he found himself full of energy, wanting to run around and play no matter what time of day. 

To be Clark Kent is to be a boy who couldn't play with his friends anymore out of fear. He wasn't a tall boulder of a boy, still slim and small. 

Clark Kent could smile and hope that everything would be fine simply because he believed. He'd seen things as a child that most could not without help. 

At ten, he figured out that he was one tough guy. Tough but gentle. Then his senses stretched and stretched, and he could hear everything, voices in the wind. His mother would comb his hair and sing to him, ground him. 

At first he thought that he was just a kid growing up, puberty did things, make hair grow, voice pitch and muscle grow. Then the crash happened and the truth came out. 

He could ignore his strength, ignore his senses, the image of Jane walking up her porch a few miles away, the smell of cookies. But he could not ignore the crash, the feel of metal against his skin, glass shattering against his chest. 

The sudden realization that breathing was optional. 

He flew into space, hands on the ground wishing to be in another place, wishing to be at peace to be in a fortress of solitude. 

Clark found himself in orbit, staring down at the planet. He raised his hand and covered the planet and realized just how small he was. No matter how far he can go, how strong he would become, his powers did not define who he was. 

He flew home just in time to help make supper. 

It seemed life would be just fine. 

Then the attack happened and everything, everything changed.

The ship blew up, fragments of metal spinning into space, bodies flying apart burning up in the atmosphere. He saw this, all of it, miles away. 

To be Clark Kent is to have power but not enough. It is to be amazing, to be able to drift in space, to smell home cooking miles away. It is to run so quickly he could see bullets fly through the air, watch the small pieces of metal fragment as they penetrate the wall. 

He opened his mouth to scream, his arm flying ahead of him, coasting off the blast as his ship was torn to pieces. Clark could see it all, shattered bone and burned flesh becoming ash in the atmosphere. 

For a split second his mind immediately focused on his parents, remembering that they were not on the planet. Then it began to worry about Jane and John, and all the other humans on this world. 

A part of him whispered, wondering, thinking. Another part was simply full of fear. 

Sometimes when he's fooling around, staring at people he thinks he can see what they're feeling. It's like a little light that floats around them. Each color meant a different thing, a different emotion. What he could see, tiny ships filled with dark intent, the skies were full of careful intent. 

His parents hadn't found anything that could hurt him too much. But it didn't mean he was invulnerable. It just took a bit more effort to break him. 

What happened next was a blur, a mix of intent and actions. The attack was swift and unforgiving, the screams of the dying and the dead echoed in his head. He couldn't shut them out. He could hear everything. 

Could he had done something? Attacked those ships, killed the batarians? Could he have saved all those people? 

The light in Clark had dimmed that day, hope drowned out by an all consuming fear. When the Alliance finally came and saved what was left, when he finally found his parents again, they consoled him on his actions. 

Could he had done more? His bruises and cuts had healed long before the Alliance ships had come leaving only a blood stained shirt and jacket. 

He wasn't God, his father told him softly. 

"Then what am I?" Clark asked, brokenhearted his eyes full of tears. 

"You are my son." Was what his father said with such finality and such heart that Clark made no other arguments. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shepard walked over to the cargo bay, a million things on her mind ranging from how to destroy Cerberus to wondering what kind of food Garrus liked. 

She spotted the reporter first, already focused on her Cerberus crew, asking questions. 

"Excuse me." Shepard said loudly gaining everyone's attention. "Sorry, Ms. Wong but we don't allow reporters near the crew. They may bite." 

Corny joke aside, she really didn't want a reporter near the Cerberus crew. Her eyes shifted to the side where a familiar looking guy was walking away from the shadows. For a second, her mind wondered about why there was a lack of gear, the guy had some pretty light weight armor and his helmet was missing, she could see Emily's helmet tucked under her arm and--

"Kent?" 

"Jane?" 

"Wait. Jane?" And there was Garrus who had probably came by to also check on the people they had saved. "You never told me your first name was Jane." 

"That's because you never used my first name Garrus." Shepard grunted. 

"Oh. Right." 

Shepard rolled her eyes. "Hey Kent. Looking good." She wasn't lying when she said that, Clark looked somewhat the same, a bit older but still good. Not that she's saying he was handsome just that he was younger than she'd thing he looked. 

As she realized this, Shepard also noticed that he didn't have his glasses on. Kent was the weirdest kid in the world, he had really good vision but wore glasses, must've been a hipster. 

"You look good too." Kent said lamely. 

It had been a long time since she'd seen her friend. Felt like a thousand years. 

Shepard spotted Miranda walking in, no doubt wondering if she had to do damage control. She never really thought about Kent and the puncture on his suit that should have rendered it useless. 

\--------------------------------------------------------

"Alright, that should do it." Miranda arched a single perfect eyebrow. "We'll letting you off here where you can call for a transport. You do realize we can't let you stay here, this being a Cerberus vessel of course." 

Emily Wong arched her own eyebrow in response. "So in other words you're saying Commander Shepard works for Cerberus." 

Miranda switched eyebrows. "Of course not." 

Clark tried wiggling his eyebrows without much success. 

"Ms. Wong let's just--" A hand shoved against her arm, sending her sprawling back onto the ground.

It was like when she was sixteen and Clark had pushed her out of the way but she wasn't sixteen anymore, she wasn't a hundred and ten pounds soaking wet, she was far heavier than that, with full armor and weapons. And yet she went flying onto the ground, rolling to her feet. 

She saw Clark fly through the window, shattering it with his body then heard the bang. 

"Sniper!" Shouted Garrus, his weapon extending as he fired a few shots at where he thought the sniper might be from. 

Shepard grabbed her own gun, setting up a defensive position as Mirdanda herded the reporter into safety. She didn't have time to think about the lack of blood, the fact Clark went through a window instead of splattering a bloody form against it. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The chunk of metal broke through the meager armor he had on, the concussive force of the blast spreading across his body lifting him up from his feet and propelling him backwards. 

The metal crumbled against his skin, leaving a bruise the size of a fist against his skin. 

Omega didn't have a sun nearby, it's healing rays were blocked out by metal and probably despair. Aria would like to think that her reputation would effect solar events. 

Clark's body went through the glass, the bullet reinforced, kinetically shielded glass landing on his back. The loud pop-pop of gun fire sounded like drums against his ears. 

A few seconds prior he heard something, the ending parts of a conversation from somewhere far away. Took but a microsecond for him to see the smallest spark before he took a chance and pushed Shepard out of the way. 

He could have been wrong. The target could have been Garrus, Miranda or Emily. In the trip to get to Omega, Clark had taken time to talk to everyone, getting to know them. While his crush for Jane had pretty much died the death of eventuality, it didn't mean he wasn't going to still be her friend and get to know her friends. 

Clark felt himself get dragged, he managed to scramble to his feet and fake a slow dash. Waved a hand, saying something about medigel before being taken into the medical ward of the ship.   
A salarian, male with one horn was waving his arm in front of his face, speaking very quickly taking only a breath for air before continuing. "Fascinating physiology, doesn't need to breathe, has sacs inside body that convert sunlight into pure energy. Biofield over body." 

Mordin looked up from his scans at the panicked young man. "Need not worry, will not tell anyone. Will of course need favor." 

The poor kid nodded. 

"Good. Now will tell Shepard that bullet grazed shoulder armor." Mordin had been looking for this specimen for a long time, ever since he came across a strange report about a scanner malfunction that he was pretty sure didn't malfunction given that he programmed it himself. 

At first thought new alien species was invader from unknown part of the galaxy. STG had found and investigated various strange minerals that were not from this galaxy. 

Perhaps a species before even the Protheans? 

However, hypothesis highly unlikely as the alien before him looked very human but had a different physiological make up. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Extra]

Mordin finished reprogramming the computer, humming to himself as the place burned around his ears. 

Just as the room exploded, he was grabbed and suddenly in the air, a few thousand feet above the explosion. He even got to see his cure disperse through the air. 

"My thanks. Cutting it a bit close, would have been BBQ." 

"Sorry, had to punch a reaper in the face." Mordin gave Clark a look before adjusting himself so that instead of being carrier, he was instead sitting in a far more comfortable place ala his back. 

"Now to find seashore to count seashells. Will make tests."


End file.
